The desirability of providing a unitary, article of apparel wherein a shirt and a conventional "four-in-hand" tie are combined is well known. Many people find such unitary articles of apparel to be more comfortable to wear because, for example, there is no tying or untying of the tie, especially in hot weather. Such unitary articles of apparel also permit the wearer thereof to utilize the shirt or garment for both formal and leisure occasions and are easily convertible from one use to the other simply by unbuttoning and/or buttoning the shirt to obtain the desired opening. Also, since the tie is inseparable from the shirt, there is no risk of the tie becoming lost, which is a problem often encountered with, for example, school children. In this respect, such unitary articles of apparel save money which otherwise may have to be spent purchasing replacement ties.
There have been several proposals for providing such unitary articles of apparel wherein a man's shirt and tie are combined. Those proposals, of which I am aware, are as follows:
______________________________________ Inventor(s) Patent No. Year of Issue ______________________________________ Dean 43,068 1864 Broom 458,266 1891 Drumm 2,090,724 1937 Black D 155,381 1949 Crothers 2,647,262 1953 Clendenin, Jr. 2,709,813 1955 Chambon 3,151,332 1964 Artz, Sr. 3,628,192 1971. ______________________________________
Each of the above references involves the use of additional pieces of material for the tie portions thereof, which additional material is sometimes secured to the shirt portion by, for example, sewing. While providing a suitable shirt and tie that are combined in a unitary article of apparel, such an arrangement is nonetheless expensive in that it requires the use of additional material for simulating the tie, as well as the use of time, machinery and labor for attaching the tie to the shirt. Also, it can be weighty and uncomfortable to wear, especially in hot summer months.
In an attempt to eliminate this extra material and expense, Clendenin, Jr. '813 proposes the provision of a shirt having a collar with a bow tie simulated thereon. In this arrangement, the knot of the bow is simulated by a fastening element. The remainder of the bow tie is simulated by small patches or patch-like elements of additional material. When the neck band of this shirt is closed, the patches are adjacent to the fastener, such that a complete bow tie is simulated.
While eliminating the need for large quantities of additional material, the apparel of Clendenin, Jr. '813 still requires the use of additional material for the patches and further requires the additional labor and machinery required for securing such patches. Also, this arrangement is only suitable for simulating narrow bow ties and is not readily adaptable for simulating neckties or bow ties having large knots.
Moreover, dying a portion of the shirt, so that the dyed portion simulates a tie has never been possible because of the presence of buttons or other fastening means on the shirt which would interfere with the dying process.
Thus, it can be seen that there remains a need for a single unitary article of apparel which simulates a man's or boy's shirt and tie without the use of any fabric or material for simulating the tie. There also remains a need for a dying process which can dye portions of an article of apparel which has buttons or other fastening means thereon.
To the best of my knowledge and belief, the prior art references (noted above) have never been commercialized to any widespread effect, nor is a solution to this particular problem (of long standing) available on the open market at the present time.